Drawing upon decades of experience, RAND provides research services, systematic analysis, and innovative thinking to a global clientele that includes government agencies, foundations, and private-sector firms.

The Pardee RAND Graduate School (PRGS.edu) is the largest public policy Ph.D. program in the nation and the only program based at an independent public policy research organization—the RAND Corporation.

Download eBook for Free

Research Question

What is the international evidence on best practice in organisational design and governance for a research funding body?

In 2016, the UK government set out plans for a new body, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) which will bring together the seven research councils, Innovate UK, and the research functions currently performed by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). UKRI will be a Non-Departmental Public Body acting as an overarching research funder. A key consideration for this new funding body will be the design of its structures and governance, so as to best advance its ultimate objectives. To inform the structure and governance of such a body, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (formerly the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills when the report was commissioned), commissioned RAND Europe to conduct a study to review the international evidence on best practice in organisational design and governance for a research funding body? This report synthesises the existing evidence relating to best practice in establishing strong and accountable organisations and governance structures; identifies lessons from the strengths and weaknesses of different organisational models for distributing research funding; and provides a UK context to the analysis.

Key Findings

There is no single 'formula' or organisational design structure that prevails in all contexts, however we identified four key themes which should be accounted for: the guiding role of strong and clear strategy; the need to support collaboration and functional networks within and across the organisation; the importance of putting people and organisational culture at the core; and developing structures around concepts of autonomy, trust and a balance of centralised/decentralised functions.

Though there is no 'one' model which can be lifted, there are governing principles which held true across the evidence base and we develop a framework which integrates these principles together. These principles are: the Haldane Principle; agility and flexibility; openness and transparency; and societal relevance.

The study integrates the principles which could be considered in the design, structure and governance of a successful research and innovation organisation and is one of the first that analyses research policy from this perspective. The study shows that if we do not consider both the system and the organisational entity which governs the system together, then we risk missing a piece of the puzzle.

Research conducted by

This report is part of the RAND Corporation research report series. RAND reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.

Permission is given to duplicate this electronic document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND Permissions page.

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.

The RAND Corporation is a research organization that develops solutions to public policy challenges to help make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. RAND is nonprofit, nonpartisan, and committed to the public interest.